“I
will continue to proclaim that I am a Witch, and I am Wiccan, for it
means the same thing. It is my religion, and it is my craft. It is my
life.” –Mike Nichols, Wiccan

Witches
are coming out of the broom closet. But they’re not calling themselves
witches anymore. Instead those in “the Craft” prefer Wiccan,
which comes from the earlier form of the word for witch. [1]Perhaps the name
has been changed to take the sting out of it, but a witch by any other
name is still a witch.

It’s
impossible to determine the numbers of Wiccans there are worldwide because
they have no formal membership. Estimates vary but there could be as
many as 3 million practicing the magic arts in America. Some say Wicca
is the fastest-growing religion in the country! Whether this is true
or not, one thing’s for sure: many young people, especially female
high school and college students, are joining covens. Because of Wicca’s
reverence for the earth and nature, young environmentalists are drawn
to Wicca.

What
do modern day Wiccans practice and believe?

“Wicca
is a faith system that has no central organization or theological belief
system defined for all of its adherents. It may be best understood through
its typical practices, which include performing magic and sorcery, casting
spells and engaging in Witchcraft. It is a ritualistic faith based on
a loose set of pagan beliefs that are generally pantheistic in nature.
Those who are involved commonly go through initiation rites for membership,
teaching and leadership. Contrary to a widespread assumption, however,
Wicca is not synonymous with Satan worship. Wiccans most frequently
worship gods and goddesses that are found in nature. Wicca generally
embraces the notions of karma and reincarnation, and promotes a laissez
faire form of morality.”[2]

Wicca
is a neopagan, nature-based religion. Wiccans celebrate eight season-based
festivals. Typically, Wiccans worship the horned god and the triple
goddess. “A key belief in Wicca is that the Goddess and the God
(or the goddesses and gods) are able to manifest in personal form, most
importantly through the bodies of Priestesses and Priests via the rituals
of Drawing down the Moon or Drawing down the Sun.”[3]

One
online resource, ReligionLink, tells us that “Wiccans are smashing
stereotypes as their movement matures. Throughout the country Wiccans
are organizing congregations and youth groups, training clergy, pursuing
charity work, sharing pagan parenting tips and fighting for their civil
rights.”[4]

Wiccan’s
are fighting those who follow tradition mainstream religions:

"I
call out for protection of the Goddess's people from the wrath of right-wing
fundamentalists and their God" --Wendy Hunter Roberts, pagan
priestess.

The
media, including advertisers and book and magazine publishers, are lending
their support to Wicca and Witchcraft. Not surprisingly book sales on
Witchcraft have jumped dramatically since the late 1980s.

The
Harry Potter (HP) books, probably the best-known books on Witchcraft,
have cast a spell on children. The Potter books fly off the shelves
like broomsticks and have made the author, J.K. Rowling, a gazillionaire.
Young and old alike read the books and flock to theaters to see the
HP movies. And of course parents rush to stores to purchase all the
latest HP collectables for their youngsters. Not surprisingly kids dress
up like the Potter characters on Halloween. It seems everyone’s
wild about Harry. Rowling is masterful at promoting the idea that Harry
and his friends are “good” wizards and witches who battle
the forces of evil. As a result of HP’s popularity, youngsters
are enchanted by Witchcraft and all things pagan.

It’s
easy for teens to learn about Witchcraft. All they have to do is surf
the internet, where Wiccan sites abound. They learn about spells, incantations
and magic potions that are designed to influence circumstances and/or
people.

Hollywood
has used its movie magic to promote Witchcraft and alter the public
perception of witches for years. The 1930s classic “The Wizard
of Oz” hit the silver screen to favorable reviews. The movie had
a huge impact on the way people perceive witches. Today when you think
of a witch, who springs to mind but Margaret Hamilton, the actress who
played the Wicked Witch of the West. You remember her green face, pointy
black hat, hooked nose with a wart on the end of if, and of course the
broomstick she straddled and streaked through the sky. There was also
a “good” witch in the movie, beautiful Glenda, the Witch
of the North, who looked like a fairy princess. In the 1950s “Bell
Book and Candle” staring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak was a big
hit with audiences. In the 1960s “Rosemary’s Baby”
scared the stuffing out of movie-goers. The 1980s conjured up “The
Witches of Eastwick.” That same year “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”
won an Oscar for its visual effects. In the 1990s Tinseltown gave us
“Practical Magic,” “The Craft” and “The
Blair Witch Project.” The current decade has been all about witches.
Four Harry Potter movies played on the big screen. The first, “Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,” was a box-office smash. In July
2009 the “Chosen One” will once again mount his broomstick
and whiz into a theatre near you in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince.”

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On
television, shows like “Bewitched” (which was also made
into a movie starring Nicole Kidman), “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”
and “Charmed” have been hugely popular, especially with
teens. Last year even the Hallmark Movie Channel, which promotes good
clean family-friendly programming, brought us “The Good Witch.”
In this made for TV movie, Catherine Bell plays Cassie Nightingale,
a mysterious woman who moves into a haunted mansion in a small town.
Cassie soon has everyone in town wondering if she is a witch because
of all the magical changes she brings into the lives of the townsfolk.
The mayor’s busybody wife suspects Cassie’s a witch and
tries to set everyone against her. For her actions she’s portrayed
as irrational, mean-spirited and intolerant. In other words, the one
who is against the practice of Witchcraft is bad. The witch, of course,
is good. “The Good Witch” was so popular with the audience
that Hallmark has produced a sequel.

What
is important to know about all the supernatural hullabaloo, that’s
become such a huge temptation for the younger generation, is that God
strongly condemns it. Sure, it’s a bummer because casting spells
is fun, so is playing with the Ouija board, but the Bible makes it clear
that God condemns the magic arts. But no one seems to care what God
says anymore nor do we have a healthy fear of the Lord.

“Fear
ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence?”
(Jer. 5:22)

What
could it hurt to try to contact the dead or to have an astrologer calculate
the astrological compatibility between you and another person? Well
first of all, God is a real party pooper when it comes to sorcery. He
forbids dabbling in the magic arts, period, end of discussion. His prohibition
is for our own good. Behind the supernatural powers lurks the god of
this world, namely Satan. The minute a person opens the door to the
occult, Satan directs his evil forces to their doorstep. Once someone
is caught in Satan’s trap, it’s hard to break free! Occult
practices are addictive! And for some people, it becomes an idol.

The
Apostle Paul gave Christians this sober warning:

"For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

The
rulers of this dark world are not human beings, they are spirits! According
to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the New Testament, “The
context (‘not against flesh and blood’) shows that not earthly
potentates are indicated, but spirit powers, who, under the permissive
will of God, and in consequence of human sin, exercise satanic and therefore
antagonistic authority over the world in its present condition of spiritual
darkness and alienation from God.”[5]

"There
was some primary warfare going on...an archetypal battle between principalities
and powers...and I willed to go all the way in this death battle."

Luke
22:31-32 tells us that Satan is on a leash, so to speak. Therefore
he cannot go beyond what our sovereign God will allow. We’re told
in Job
1:9-12 that Satan had to obtain permission from God before afflicting
Job. It’s reassuring to know that God is in complete control of
the universe! Satan can do only what God allows him to do -- but Satan
was permitted to put Job through the ringer!

When
God’s people mess around in practices He expressly forbids, such
as Witchcraft, He does not overlook it. Not for a millisecond! And He
just might allow the devil to put those who are deliberately disobedient
through the ringer!

Followers
of Jesus Christ must give Him their total allegiance. Far too many Christians
are leading two lives. They are following both Christ and the culture.
Paul says this in 1 Cor. 10:14: Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from
idolatry.” In other words, flee from anything that displeases
God. Paul continues in verse 21-22: “Ye cannot drink the cup of
the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's
table, and of the table of devils?22 Do we provoke thee Lord to jealousy?
Are we stronger than he?”

Just
so you’ll know some of the practices that provoke the Lord to
jealousy, here’s a short list of terms and actual practices to
steer clear of:

Lastly,
God’s people must daily “Put on the full armor of God”
to protect against the forces of evil! Learn how to arm yourself by
clicking
here.

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Let
no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the
wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be
partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light
in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit
is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable
to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things
which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are
made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore
He says:

Awake,
you who sleep,

Arise
from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.

See
then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming
the time, because the days are evil.
-- Ephesians 5:6-17

Marsha
West is the Founder and Editor of Email
Brigade News Report, an online news service for conservative people
of faith. Marsha is a freelance writer whose main focus is on religious
and cultural issues. She is a regular contributor to NewsWithViews.com;
TheConservativevoice; RenewAmerica; Christianworldviewnetwork; Webcommentary
and other popular websites. Her writings have also appeared on WorldnetDaily;
Canadafreepress; AmericanDaily and several Christian periodicals.

Marsha loves
to write fiction for the younger generation. She is currently writing
a series of books about an average Christian family and the cultural issues
they face. Her books equip kids to defend their faith and live for Christ.